Marginalia c. 1300
Book of Hours (Maastricht)
f. 133r
A man bends over and blows a trumpet from his posterior. The trumpet emits visible sound waves and a cascade of flowers. Birds perch on the trumpet's bell.
Scholarly Interpretation
The 'butt trumpet' or bumbulum is a staple of medieval humor, likely satirizing pompous musicians or corrupt clergy. The flowers may indicate that even base things can produce beauty — or simply that the artist found it funny.
from the margins of the medieval world